Surface decoration and ornamentation.



No. 6 3 7,fi36; Patentbdlov. 2|; I899.

' A. E. MEYER.

SURFACE DECORATION AN NA TATION. (App Mention filed Apr. 899. (NoModel.)

WITNESSES INVENTOR m: uoRR s Pm: 00,, Pnoraumon WASHINGTON, o. c.

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUBREY E. MEYER, OF WHITEHALL, NEW YORK.

SURFACE DECORATION AND ORNAMENTATION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,636, dated November21, 1899.

Application filed April 2 8, 1 89 9.

and ornamentations such as may be used for.

walls and ceilings of houses and for other purposes.

It has for its object to provide a new article of commerce or a newmaterial that may be used as a substitute, for instance, for wallpaperand fabrics used for similar and other purposes.

My improvement consists, essentially, of a new article of manufactureora new surface ornamentation consisting of a web or webs of non-wovenfibers suitably applied to a suitable backing or support and suitablysecured thereto,said fibers lying substantially parallel to the face ofthe backing and in the main running substantially parallel to each otherover the backing. I prefer that the fibers shall be n ognspun as well asnon-woven, and I prefer also that the fibers shall be of silk and ofnon-spun silk and that the backing or support shall be flexible. Thewebs may be of longer or shorter lengths and widths on the backing andthe webs may run in different and varying directions on the backing. Theweb or Webs constituting the ornamental face or surface of the newarticle of manufacture may consist of non-woven natural fibers or ofnon-woven artificial fibers, and many different varieties of fiberswould be suitable for the purpose. The backing or support may be ofpaper, cloth, leather, wood, or otherwise, so long as it does notprevent or substantially prevent or interfere with the ornamentalcharacteristics or features of the web or webs of non-woven fibersconstituting the face of the new article of manufacture. Many beautifuleffects may be produced through the coloring of the non-woven fibers andthrough control and variation of the method of arrangement of the fibersor of the web or webs Serial No. 714,826. (No model.)

of fibers upon the face of the article. In no case, however, are thefibers to be woven prior to the application to the backing or support.In order to secure the adhesion of the web or webs of non-woven fibersto the backing or support, some form of adhesive substance may be used,such as dextrine, gelatin, &c. In the selection and manipulation of theadhesive substance care should be exercised so as not to interfere withthe desired ornamental appearance of the web or webs.

In carrying out my invention in the best and cheapest form known to me Imay utilize silk waste as follows with excellent results: Describingsuch process in detail, (which process, however, forms no part of mypresent invention,) the silk waste is first freed from gum and dirt byboiling, (be. It is dried andthen passed through an opener, being amachine which has feed-rollers and combs, which tend to separate thefibers and draw them into some degree of parallelism. Then the lap offibers is passed through the fillingengine having feed rollers andcombs, in which the lap is drawn out and cut into parallel strips. Thenthe strips are combed. The combed stock is next passed through aspreader, which equalizes said stock and forms a more uniform lap ofnearly parallel fibers. The lap is then passed through a setbox, whichforms the lap into slivers. The slivers are then drawn several times indrawing-boxes to equalize and perfect the same, all of said operationstending to produce par allelism and regularity in the distribution ofthe fibers. The collection of fibers is finally passed through adrawing-box that has a provision for gathering the fibers together andwhich causes the fibers to leave the machine in a continuous flattenedweb or ribbon of non-woven fibers lying substantially parallel to oneanother and contiguous and soforming a continuous web. This web is nowready to be attached by suitable adhesive material to the backing orsupport.-

Any other suitable method than that above set out may be employed toprepare the web or webs of non-woven fibers for application to thebacking or support. Such application of the web of non-woven fibers tothe backing or support may be conveniently attained by the use of such,apparatus as is shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, which is adiagrammatic representation of machinery suitable for apvolves in afountain f of suitable adhesive material. The pressure between therollers (1 and e limits and graduates the amount of adhesives applied tothe web a. The moisten ed web aand the flexible backing b are fedbetween the rollers 61 and 9, where the pressure applies the onereliablyto the other and with the adhesive causes them to reliablyadhere together.

Fig. 1 is a face view, and Fig. 2 a sectional view, greatly enlarged, ofan illustrative sample of the finished article, in which 77. representsthe web or Webs of non-woven fiber, and z' represents the backing. Theweb or webs h of non-woven fibers is so colored as to represent parallelstripes, (indicated in the drawings by differentfshadinglines.)

A web of non-woven fibers or any desired number of such webs side byside, adjacent webs touching each other if desired, may be continuouslyfed to a continuous web of paper or other flexible backing and pressedupon the face thereof with a suitable ad Kesive layer intervening andthen passed over heated rollers to dry it. The article so produced incontinuous lengths may be cut and manipulated in any desired way forsale and use. The fibers may be dyed before being arranged into the webform and so before application to the backing, or they may be dyed orprinted with a pattern or both f after arrangement into webs and beforeapplication to the backing, or they may be dyed or printed afterapplication to the backing, and novel and varied and beautiful effectsmay be produced and cheaply. Any'other method or means may be employedto apply the web or webs of non-woven fibers to the backing or Supp WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1.. The newarticle of man ufacture,substan'- .tiallyas described, consisting of anornamentalweb or webs of non-woven fibers applied to a suitable backingor support with an adhesive material,said-fibers lying substantiallyparallel to theface of the backing and in the inainrunning substantiallyparallel to each I other over the backing.

2; The new article of manufacture,substan tially as described,consisting of an ornamental web or webs of non-woven and non-spunfibers-applied to a suitable backing or support 1 an adhesive material,said fibers lying 1 substantially parallel to the face of the backingand in the main running substantially parallel to each other over thebacking.

3. The new article of manufacture,substantially as described, consistingof an ornamental web or webs of non-woven silk fibers applied to asuitable backing or support with an adhesive material, said fibers lyingsubstantially parallel to the face of the backing and in the mainrunning substantially parallel to each other over the backing.

4. The new article of manufacture,substantially as described, consistingof an ornamental web or webs of non-woven and non-spun y'silk fibersapplied to a suitable backing or 'tially as described, consisting of anornamental web or webs of non-woven and non-spun fibers applied to asuitable flexible backing 0r supportwith an adhesive material, saidfibers lying substantially parallel to the face of the backing and inthe main running substantiall y parallel to each other over the backing.

7. The new article of manufacture,substantially as described, consistingof an ornamental web or webs of non-woven silk fibers applied to asuitable flexiblebacking orsupport with an adhesive material, saidfibers lying substantially parallel to the face of the backin g and inthe main running substantially parallelto each other over the'backing.

8.; The newarticle of manufaeture,substanti-a'll y as described,consisting of an ornamental web or webs of non-woven and non-spun silkfibers, applied to a suitable flexible backing or support with anadhesive material, said fibers lying substantially parallel to the faceof the backing and in the main running substantially parallel to eachother over the backing.

9. Thenewsurface ornamentation, consisting of a web or webs of non-wovenfibers suitably secured toa backing or support, as. set

fortln said fibers lying substantially parallel to the .face of thebacking and in the main running substantially parallel to each otherover the backing.

In testimony. whereof I have signed my 3 name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUBREY E. MEYER. Witnesses:

EDWIN SEGER, GEO. W. MILLS, Jr.

